LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) Kroger is closing three more of its stores in Los Angeles after the city passed a “hero pay” ordinance requiring a $ 5 wage penalty for grocery and pharmacy workers.
Two Ralphs stores – at 9616 West Pico Blvd. and 3300 West Slauson Ave. – and a food 4 less at 5420 W. Sunset Blvd. will close on May 15, according to Kroger. The company said Wednesday that the three stores are already underperforming, and that the mandate in Los Angeles is accelerating their closure.
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(Photo by Brittany Murray / MediaNews Group / Long Beach Press-Telegram via Getty Images)
‘It’s never our desire to close a store, but if you take into account the increased costs of the industry during COVID-19, steady financial losses in these three places, and an extra payment mandate that will last almost the next 120 days “It will cost $ 20 million, it will be impossible to run these three stores,” Kroger said in a statement.
It is not clear how many workers will be laid off when the three stores close in May. But Kroger said it would provide the mandatory extra pay to all employees, including those working at the three locations planned to close.
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Kroger says his employees at Ralphs and Food 4 Less in Los Angeles already earn $ 18 an hour. According to health care and pension benefits, their total compensation is $ 24 per hour, according to Kroger. The grocery store giant says it has also invested $ 2.5 billion to reward its employees and put in place safety measures since the start of the pandemic, and recently issued $ 50 million in rewards to front-line employees.
The company also highlighted its efforts to vaccinate its front-line employees as quickly as possible and hosted three vaccine clinics taking place for its associates in Los Angeles this week. Kroger, who offers a $ 100 vaccination reward to his employees, says nearly 20% of his co-workers received their first dose or were fully vaccinated.
“Prioritization of vaccinations – not arbitrary mandates for extra pay – is what protects frontline workers,” a Kroger spokesman said in the statement.
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Kroger has been fighting back over the past few months against the hazard compensation mandates carried out by several municipalities. In Long Beach, the company has already announced the closure of two stores in response to the city’s “hero payments” ordinance.